Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Thermomix

Published: Mar 23, 2018 · Modified: Dec 5, 2022 by Julie Carlyle · This post may contain affiliate links · 48 Comments

Greek meatballs surrounded by rich homemade tomato sauce and topped with a sharp parmesan cheese. This is a family favourite recipe and a delicious comfort food the whole family will enjoy.

My food world turned upside down the day I tried authentic Greek meatballs, known as Souzoukakia. These meatballs which were made by a little old Greek grandmother. I had never tried such moist meat! It was a far cry from what I grew up with as an Australian child in the 1970's.

I was visiting Townsville for the Greek festival and making my way around all my favourite foods.

Out of all the dishes I tried, the meatballs were the biggest revelation. Thankfully the Townsville Greek community had all got together, argued over the best way to make the traditional dishes and then produced a cookbook.

I bought the cookbook and now 9 years later it's stained and dog-eared, but one of my favourite cookbooks. Since purchasing my Thermomix I have begun to convert some of the recipes. This recipe is particularly well suited to the TM.

Timesaving Tips for Preparing Meatballs

Grate the cheeses at the start of preparation and reserve for later. There is no need to clean the bowl after grating the cheese.
Combine all the ingredients for the Souzoukakia first. Then start on the tomato sauce, whilst the tomato sauce is cooking you will have time to roll the rissoles and place in the Varoma, ready to steam.
Preheat the oven once the Souzoukakia is steaming over the tomato sauce.

Watchpoints

Ensure that all the balls are roughly the same size so they all cook at the same rate.
When placing the balls on the Varoma tray be mindful that steaming holes are not all covered. Covering the holes will prevent the steam from cooking the meatballs.

So today I'm sharing the recipe for Souzoukakia, otherwise known as "Meatballs in Tomato Sauce." The images above show the steps in more details should you wish to refer to them.

Timesaving tips for making tomato Sauce

As much as I love making my tomato sauce from scratch it is not necessary to do this everytime you make Greek Meatballs. If tomato seconds are available on special, or you have an influx of tomatoes in your garden I would absolutely recommend making the sauce from scratch.

But, if you're pushed for time you can follow the instructions up to the addition of fresh tomatoes. Simple swap the fresh tomatoes for the same amount of tomato passatta. The dish will not need all the cooking time. So once the passata has been added, stack the meatballs on top in the Varoma and cook for 25 minutes /120 degrees/Speed 1.5.

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Overhead shot meatballs in tomato sauce on white background

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Thermomix Style

Julie Carlyle

A Family Friendly Dinner Idea - Souzoukakia, otherwise known as Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. A comfort food the whole family will enjoy.

4.96 from 22 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Course Main

Cuisine American, Australian, Italian

Servings people

Calories 576 kcal

Equipment

Thermomix
Varoma
Oven

Ingredients

Prepping Ingredients

80 g parmesan cheese
100 g tasty cheese
½ bunch continental parsley

Meatballs

20 g garlic
200 g onion quartered
180 g tomato paste ½ cup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cumin ground
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 TBS parmesan cheese (from the pre-grated bowl)
1 teaspoon allspice
145 g bread crumbs 1 cup
500 g lamb mince
500 g beef mince not lean

Napolitana Sauce

20 g garlic
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
200 g onion quartered
50 g oil
800 g tomatoes halved
1 TBS tomato paste
100 ml red wine
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 bay leaf
1 TBS Vegetable stock paste (recipe from basic cookbook) OR Massel vegetable stock cube

Instructions

Ingredient Preparation

Place the parmesan cheese in the TM bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 9. Reserve in a small bowl until needed.
80 g parmesan cheese
Place the tasty cheese in the TM bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 9. Reserve in a small bowl until needed.
100 g tasty cheese
Place the parsley in the TM bowl. Chop 5sec/Speed 9. Reserve in a small bowl until needed.
½ bunch continental parsley

Preparing Meatballs

Add quartered onion and garlic to TM bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 9.
200 g onion, 20 g garlic
Add eggs, cumin, garlic salt, allspice, onion powder and tomato paste to the onion mixture. Combine 5 sec/Speed 5.
2 eggs, 1 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon allspice, 180 g tomato paste
Add the breadcrumbs, 1 TBS grated parmesan, pepper, lamb and beef to TM bowl. Dough setting/2 minute. Help the mixture combine with a spatula.
1 TBS parmesan cheese, 145 g bread crumbs, 500 g lamb mince, 500 g beef mince, ½ teaspoon pepper
Remove the meatball mixture from the TM Bowl and reserve in a large bowl. Without washing the TM move onto the sauce.

Napoletana Sauce

Place the peppercorns and garlic in the TM bowl. Chop 3 sec/Speed 9.
20 g garlic, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Add onion to the garlic mixture. Chop 3 sec/Speed 7. Scrape down TM bowl.
200 g onion
Add oil to the TM Bowl. Sautee 5 min/Varoma/Speed 1.5.
50 g oil
Place the halved tomatoes, sugar, garlic salt, allspice, red wine, oregano, stock paste and tomato paste in TM bowl. Puree 30 sec/Speed 8.
800 g tomatoes, 100 ml red wine, 2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 TBS brown sugar, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 TBS Vegetable stock paste, 1 TBS tomato paste
Add the bay leaf to the sauce. Simmer 30 min/120 degree/Speed 1.5 (MC OUT). Add the strainer to the top of the lid to prevent splatters.
1 bay leaf

Cooking Meatballs

Whilst the tomato sauce is cooking prepare the meatballs.
Shape the mixture into even sized meatballs and place on the deep Varoma and shallow Varoma trays ready to be steamed.
Once the sauce has finished, stack the Varoma trays on top of the tomato sauce. Cook the meatballs and sauce for a further 15min/120 degrees/Speed 1.5.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Baking the Dish

Arrange the meatballs in an ovenproof dish.
Pour the tomato sauce over the Souzoukakia.
Top the dish with chopped parsley, grated tasty cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until golden.
80 g parmesan cheese, 100 g tasty cheese

Notes

Serving Suggestions:

Serving this dish with zoodles (zucchini noodles) will keep the carbohydrate load low for those on a LCHF or Keto diet.
I love this dish with mashed potato.
Traditionally Italians would serve meatballs with pasta.
Another nice option is to enjoy the dish with some crusty bread.

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 33gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 1458mgPotassium: 914mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1375IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 309mgIron: 4.6mg

Keyword Comfort food, Main Meal, Meatballs, Mince

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

I find meatballs fabulous to make in the Thermomix. Steaming the meat in the Varoma means the rissoles are so much moister than if they were fried. Also frying rissoles is very hit and miss. Too many times I've meatballs fall apart in the frying pan.

So if you're looking for more recipes I've got you covered.

Other Meatballs Recipes

Swedish

Chicken Teriyaki

Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta

If you’ve tried the recipe please leave a message and let me know what you thought. Your comments help me to decide what recipes I should make and share. I'd also love to know your favourite TM dish, or perhaps you have a suggestion for another recipe I should make and share?

Best of all your comments may help another Thermomixer trying to choose a recipe for their family.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Cooking

More Thermomix Main Meal

Comments

Noelene says

April 19, 2023 at 7:45 am

Hi Julie. This looks great and the reviews are very positive. Do you think it would work with just chicken mince on its own? Love your recipes and cookalongs on Mondays
Thanks
Noelene

Reply
Julie says

August 15, 2022 at 7:14 pm

Recipe lived up to expectation, again. Great to make two dishes out of them and freeze some for another day. The steamed meatballs are so moist. Really loved this dish.

Reply
kristen Hartmann says

May 13, 2022 at 10:00 am

Love this recipe. So delicious and makes heaps for the freezer which I also love! A friend has suggested adding some red pesto as it gives it a lovely added kick, which I am going to try next week. Thankyou.

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  May 20, 2022 at 9:12 am
  
  Hi Kristen
  I'm so pleased you enjoyed the recipe
  Thank you for coming back and commenting
  Happy cooing Julie
  xx
  
  Reply
Bianca says

February 08, 2022 at 8:13 am

Have made this three times already. So yum!
Can I omit the red wine and maybe substitute it for something else?

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  February 09, 2022 at 12:53 pm
  
  Hi Bianca
  I am so pleased you are enjoying the recipe 🙂
  Yes, you can omit the red wine, you can just add stock to replace the wine. It will change the flavour slightly but not too noticeably
  Happy cooking
  j
  
  Reply
Elizabeth paul says

September 06, 2021 at 7:20 pm

This looks delicious. What red wine would you recommend making the napolina sauce with? I'm new to cooking with red wine.

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  September 11, 2021 at 10:03 am
  
  Hi Elizabeth
  You can use any red wine in this recipe. Preferably just a leftover wine 🙂
  Happy Cooking
  
  Reply
Jan says

June 27, 2021 at 7:43 pm

Hi, love the sound of this meatball recipe, but would like to know when you say make meatballs while sauce is cooking then put in varoma dish, are you leaving sauce in while steaming them or steaming with water in the jug. Sorry if this sounds a dumb question but didn’t want to over cook sauce.

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  June 27, 2021 at 8:53 pm
  
  Hi Jan
  I’m sorry the recipe isn’t clear. I will have to reword it 🌸
  The meatballs go on top of the tomato sauce. This lets the sauce cook for longer and develop more flavour, plus the juices from the meatballs gets added to the sauce as they cook which make the sauce taste even yummier ☺️
  Happy cooking
  J
  
  Reply
Pam Parker says

April 17, 2020 at 11:06 pm

this was amazing! the sauce is soo delicious! and the meatballs...soo tender! was soo glad i tried this, and will definitely make again.
the rating won't let me select but its defiantly a 5 star
the sauce was soo amazing i can't wait to see how i can use it in other dishes.
thank you for such an amazing recipe

Reply
Sarah says

April 05, 2019 at 5:19 pm

Our family loves this recipe, very tasty and we get a few meals out of it which is what we love

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  April 06, 2019 at 7:06 am
  
  I love that about this dish too! My kids take the leftover meatballs on wraps 🙂
  
  Reply
Elena says

February 11, 2019 at 10:03 pm

The flavour of the sauce was amazing but it was very runny. I’m not sure why this was or if it’s supposed to be this way? Nonetheless it was very tasty!

Reply
Sarah says

January 20, 2019 at 9:04 pm

Yum yum! Tick of approval from the 4 year old and husband! And lots of leftovers to freeze for another night!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  January 21, 2019 at 1:28 pm
  
  Awesome! I’m so pleased xx Tuanks for coming back and letting me know 🙂
  
  Reply
Lib says

January 08, 2019 at 7:52 am

The recipe calls for ‘not lean’ mince. Why is this?

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  January 08, 2019 at 9:53 am
  
  Hi Lib, Meatballs have a tendency to be a little dry if lean mince is used. These are so much more delicious if there is a little bit of fat in the mince 😊😊 I hope you like the recipe.
  Julie
  
  Reply
Bonnie says

September 22, 2018 at 5:51 am

Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Four very happy consumers in this household - served it with (not so traditional) broccolini and mashed potato - yum! 5*s!!!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  September 22, 2018 at 2:41 pm
  
  Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
  
  Reply
Natalie says

August 20, 2018 at 7:48 pm

Lovely sauce, but we found it too ‘relish like’ very thick and rich- reduced too much? I used 800g canned tomatoes, instead of fresh. Next time I’d add some water to the sauce. The flavor was amazing though. The meatballs are amazing without the sauce too!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  August 21, 2018 at 1:04 pm
  
  I'm pleased you liked the recipe. Using canned tomatoes would have caused the difference as they have already been cooked and partly reduced in water content. Just add a little extra as you did if you used canned tomatoes. I would love to see what you thought of the recipe after trying fresh tomatoes. I promise its worth the effort 🙂
  
  Reply
Leisa says

July 24, 2018 at 7:41 pm

It took me a while to prepare in the mad afternoon rush but oh my gosh they are worth it! Our family just devoured it but thankfullly there is enough for lunches tomorrow! The meatballs were tender and juicy, the sauce was so tasty and cooking them in the oven with the parsley and cheese on top finished it off! Thanks to those Nonna's for such a great recipe! Are there more?

Reply
Chelsea Holmes says

June 10, 2018 at 7:48 pm

I love this recipe so Much! Just wondering what you think about adding some hidden veggies to the meatballs? Carrot or zucchini maybe?

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  June 12, 2018 at 10:31 am
  
  Great Idea Chelsea!! I might try and make a completely "fake meatball" Thanks so much for the inspiration. xx
  
  Reply
Aaryn Capocasa says

June 01, 2018 at 7:30 pm

Looks gorgeous.. im a calorie counter is that realy 600 plus per serve? Thankyou

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  June 12, 2018 at 10:46 am
  
  Hi Aaryn,
  I'm a calorie counter too 🙂 I just checked the nutritional content of the recipe. The parmesan cheese was in twice which brought the calories down to 576. If you use only the parmesan cheese and not the tasty cheese you save another 500 calories over the whole recipe (50 calories per serve saving.) Other than that, the calories are correct. The serves are very large! I usually don't need a full serving when I have the dish with salad or vegetables. I hope you like the recipe 🙂
  
  Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  November 06, 2018 at 11:57 am
  
  Hi Aaryn, Yes the calorie count is 576. These serving is a VERY generous size and includes the cheese on top. To reduce the calories just serve a smaller portion with a side salad and go easy on the cheese.
  Happy Cooking
  
  Reply
Jessica says

May 28, 2018 at 9:04 pm

Made this last minute on the weekend and only had chicken mince and beef but tried it and had it on the table in an hour my family of 3 boys plus one big boy absolutely loved it, it was so easy to make and will definitely be a weekly staple in our household as we’ve had enough for leftovers!!!!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  June 01, 2018 at 6:33 am
  
  Awesome! I always "change about" the types of mince I use too! I'm so pleased the family enjoyed the meal 🙂 I always try to design recipes that serve a family with leftovers! Leftovers make the following day so much easier when you're a busy family 🙂
  
  Reply
Michelle Parker says

May 22, 2018 at 6:34 pm

Amazing!!! I had a guest coming for dinner and his request was meatballs. I haven’t made them before so quickly googled a recipe and this was the first to come up. I didn’t quite have all the different spices but close enough. Super impressed and will definitely make again!
I might need to double the sauce or serve with a bolagnaise as there wasn’t quite enough sauce to meatball ratio for our liking.

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  May 22, 2018 at 6:44 pm
  
  Hi Michelle, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the recipe! thank you for your lovely comments.
  
  I kept the volume of sauce down so the recipe would be suitable to the TM31 and TM5.
  You can easily add more tomato to the recipe to make more sauce. You won’t need to add extra onion or garlic just a little extra stock, wine and spices. The recipe is very forgiving.
  Thank you again for stopping back and commenting.
  Happy Cooking
  Xx
  
  Reply
Heidi says

May 21, 2018 at 6:37 pm

Yum yum yum the best meatball and sauce I have ever tasted.

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  May 21, 2018 at 8:01 pm
  
  I’m so pleased you enjoyed the recipe ?? Thanks for coming back and commenting ??
  
  Reply
Heidi Hyland says

May 15, 2018 at 8:26 pm

Sounds delicious - lot more interesting that my standard bolognaise sauce that I’m always make. It’s on the menu for dinner tomorrow night, can’t wait.

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  May 16, 2018 at 11:48 am
  
  I hope you enjoy the recipe, please let me know 🙂
  
  Reply
Larraine Moseley says

April 04, 2018 at 7:19 am

It was really great

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  April 09, 2018 at 9:48 am
  
  Thank you so much Larraine 🙂
  
  Reply
Larraine Moseley says

April 02, 2018 at 12:41 pm

Does the vegetable stock go in the meatballs or the sauce?
In the ingredients it has it listed in the sauce, in the method, it has it added to the meatballs.... I put it in the sauce and hoped that was correct....

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  April 03, 2018 at 1:15 pm
  
  Hi Larraine, Thank you so much for pointing that out. The stock paste goes in the sauce as you suspected. I have fixed the recipe. I hope you enjoyed the dish. Julie 🙂
  
  Reply
Anna Smith says

April 01, 2018 at 4:46 am

Ohhhhthat sauce is amazing!! Meatballs were soft and tasty! Family approved! Served with crusty bread! Husband has requested pasta with it and it to be a weekly dish!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  April 01, 2018 at 7:06 am
  
  Ohh that’s so good to hear!!! You’ve made my day 🙂 Thanks for stopping by ?
  
  Reply
Natalie says

April 01, 2018 at 12:50 am

These meatballs look so delicious and comforting I simply have to try this recipe soon! YUM!

Reply
Traci says

April 01, 2018 at 12:31 am

Oh my word...what a gorgeous recipe!!! I just pinned it and I cannot wait to make this sometime! I love all the flavors you have going on here…and thanks for the step-by-step photos make it look even more approachable. Great recipe!

Reply
Katie Crenshaw | A Fork's Tale says

March 31, 2018 at 7:26 pm

I had a Greek Grandmother who loved to cook, but never made Greek food ironically... I was so deprived! It wasn't until recently that I have started experimenting with Greek dishes myself in the kitchen. I am so excited about this recipe. It looks lovely and I can't wait to make these meatballs. I too have a beloved Greek Cookbook that I picked up from a Greek Church that is becoming stained and dog-eared from all of its usage. Those are the best cookbooks!

Reply
- Julie Carlyle says
  
  April 01, 2018 at 7:08 am
  
  I love it when communities get together and produce a cookbook. They’re always the best recipes, true family favourites ? Thanks for stopping by!
  
  Reply
Danielle says

March 31, 2018 at 7:18 pm

This is my favourite kind of comfort food. I love that you have done them in a Thermomix too.

Reply
Emily says

March 31, 2018 at 6:41 pm

Wow, it's 9:30am and I'm craving meatballs haha....these look AMAZING!

Reply